War crimes prosecutor urges U.N. pressure on Sudan

Associated Press

Published 5:30 am, Friday, June 8, 2007

UNITED NATIONS — The chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal urged the Security Council Thursday to pressure Sudan to arrest a Cabinet minister and Arab militia leader charged with atrocities in Darfur villages.

The Security Council's members head next week to Africa, where they will meet on June 17 with Sudanese government leaders who have rejected the International Criminal Court's demand to arrest the two men.

The court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, also called on regional organizations to pressure Sudan.

"The Security Council and regional organizations must take the lead in calling on the Sudan to arrest the two individuals and surrender them to the court," Ocampo told the council.

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The court issued warrants in early May charging Ahmed Harun, Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, and Ali Kushayb, known as a "colonel of colonels" among the janjaweed, with a total of 51 war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Harun is accused of organizing a system to recruit, fund and arm janjaweed militia to support the Sudanese Armed Forces, Ocampo said. The prosecution alleges that he incited the militiamen "to attack and commit massive crimes against the civilian population," he said.

Kushayb is accused of "personally delivering arms and leading attacks against villages," Ocampo said.

After the briefing, Ocampo told reporters he was "very pleased" that council members would raise the arrest issue next week. He also said prosecutors have kept the African Union and Arab League informed and they have cooperated "in different ways," though he did not elaborate.

The four-year-old conflict between ethnic African rebels and the pro-government janjaweed in the vast western Darfur region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.

"We call on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the prosecutor," said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who will be going to Sudan with the council.